Juicy Strawberry – Lemon Cake bites
Juicy Strawberry – Lemon Cake bites. This lemon cake is so delicious perfect for summertime, the real star of this lemon cake is the strawberry.
The strawberries in this lemon cake are so juicy and bursting with fresh strawberry/lemon flavor.
I use freeze-dried strawberries instead of fresh strawberries, Freeze-dried strawberry is just pure strawberry, minus the water, with no added sugar. You get tons of fresh strawberry flavor, and because the strawberries contain no water, no excess moisture will not change the consistency of the lemon cake.
I covered the freeze-dried strawberries with a splash of fresh lemon juice, the lemon juice I would normally add to the cake batter anyway. The strawberries plump a little and the lemon juice just makes the strawberries even juicier and even more delicious.
After the lemon cake is baked, I poke the cake with a fork and drizzled warm lemon sugar syrup all over the cake to make the cake even moister, and then it is drizzled with pink lemon icing, I use pink pitaya powder to get that beautiful eye-catching pink color on this cake.
This cake is so tender if served slightly warm, but after a night in the fridge, it becomes even juicier and moister, not as tender but still so good. If not better!
This cake freezes so well and is oh so perfect for warm summer days.
Before you start
Read the recipe completely; make sure you have everything you need.
For all the step-by-step, pictures scroll to → Notes and click on the clickable link
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*Note
→You want to use cake flour, and don't have it? Search the app for the recipe for → DIY Cake Flour
→Freeze-dried strawberry is just pure strawberry, minus the water, with no added sugar. you get tons of fresh strawberry flavor.
→You can find freeze-dried strawberries in most grocery stores in the dried fruit aisle, find them at whole foods, on amazon, at trader Joe, or at the farmer's market.
→The pink pitaya powder also know as dragon fruit, is a fruit of a cactus plant, I use an organic freeze-dried → pink pitaya powder, the pink powder is rich in antioxidants and often used in smoothies to make the smoothie bright pink. You need just 1/2 teaspoon or more to get a lovely pink color in your lemon icing You find it at some grocery stores like whole food or on amazon. I use this → one
Strawberry Lemon Cake
- 50 gram freeze-dried strawberries unsweetened *note
- 5 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 200 gram unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 225 gram white sugar or superfine sugar
- 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 3 tablespoons grated lemon zest
- 80 gram sour cream, at room temperature
- 150 gram ricotta cheese, room temperature
- 200 gram cake flour or all-purpose flour, sifted
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
Lemon Syrup
- 65 gram sugar
- 65 gram freshly squeezed lemon juice
Pink Lemon Icing
- 220 gram powdered sugar, sifted
- 60 gram freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon pink pitaya powder, optional
Directions for the strawberry lemon cake
- 30 minutes before baking this cake, preheat the oven to 325.F (165.C)
- Grease the sides and bottom of a small baking dish 30 cm x 18 cm (12-inch x 7 inches) grease and line with parchment paper and set aside.
- Using a Microplane or the finest-toothed side of a box grater, zest the lemons. Do your best to grate only as far down as the yellow part of the skin; the white pith has less lemon flavor and can be bitter. Set the zest aside, and squeeze 5 tablespoon juice from the lemons.
- Place the 50 grams of freeze-dried strawberries in a small bowl, pour 5 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice on top, combine and set aside for now.
- Sift 200 grams of cake flour or all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a medium bowl, and set aside.
- Place the 225-gram superfine sugar or white sugar, 5 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste, 3 tablespoon lemon zest, 150-gram ricotta cheese, and 80 gram sour cream in a large bowl give it a quick whisk until smooth, about 1 minute.
- Add the 200 gram cooled melted butter and quickly whisk it together, about 20 seconds.
- A little note from me before you continue with the recipe when you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, it is very important to whisk them together with a light touch in three additions, this will result in the most tender cake.
- In three additions, sift the flour mixture into the bowl with the wet ingredients using a balloon whisk instead of a silicon spatula, and very gently fold the flour into the batter until fully combined. Be very delicately with just a few folds as possible with each addition of flour, Periodically shake out the batter that collects inside your whisk.
- Use a large silicone spatula at the end of folding in order to reach the bottom of the bowl, add the freeze-dried strawberry/lemon mixture and combine, scrape the batter into your prepared baking dish.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 30-35 minutes, baking times vary, the cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out "mostly" clean. A couple of moist crumbs are OK.
Directions for the Lemon Syrup
- Five minutes before the strawberry lemon cake is ready, make the Lemon Syrup.
- In a small saucepan over medium heat, heat the 65-gram lemon juice and 65-gram sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved.
- When the cake is ready, place it on a cooling rack.
- Use a small cake tester or a fork and poke holes in the top, and immediately pour the warm lemon syrup over the warm cake.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 1 hour.
Pink Lemon Glaze
- *Note → This batch of icing is enough to drizzle on top of the cake, if you like a thicker icing or an even bigger boost of lemon flavor make 1 1/2 batch
- Sift the 220 gram powdered sugar, add 1/2 teaspoon pink pitaya powder, and 60-gram lemon juice together and pour over the slightly cooled cake. If you like add a few freeze-dried strawberries preferably soaked in a lite bit of lemon juice on top.
- For maximum deliciousness and freshness serve slightly warm or cover with plastic wrap and place the cake in the fridge until serving for an even juicier strawberry lemon cake bite.
- For maximum deliciousness and freshness serve within 4 to 5 days.
- This cake with the icing freezes extremely well, I recommend cutting it in bite sizes and place it in an airtight container, and remove the cake from the freezer about 20 to 30 minutes before serving. This strawberry lemon cake is still so juicy and delicious after it has been frozen.
For step by step pictures of how to make
→ Juicy Strawberry – Lemon Cake bites
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